The present invention relates to devices for passing medical instruments, such as scalpels, suture needles, surgical sharps, and syringes, between medical personnel during surgical procedures. More particularly, this invention relates to a disposable instrument passer for protecting a holder's hand from injury and possible transmission of infectious disease while handling medical instruments.
Many devices are known in the art for receiving medical instruments, surgical sharps, needles, and the like. These devices generally consist of trays or bins adapted to receive the sharp ends of such instruments as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,097,963, 5,024,326, 5,020,665, and 5,005,590. These devices all generally have open box-like structures that, while shaped to receive the sharp ends of a plurality of medical instruments, do not provide means for ensuring that a person holding the device is not injured when instruments are inserted or placed into the device. In fact, as many of these devices have open box-like structures, it is quite common for a person holding the device to allow one or more fingers to extend into the box-like area where the instruments are inserted.
These prior art devices are particularly deficient in a situation where a nurse is carrying instruments back and forth between a surgical platform, commonly known as a Mayo stand, and the surgical field. The danger occurs when the nurse holds the receptacle out for a doctor or other person to insert used instruments therein. Due to the sensitivity and urgency of certain surgical procedures, it could be quite easy for an instrument to be quickly placed, or thrust, into the receptacle with the possibility of injuring the hand of the person holding the receptacle, as the holder typically has one or more fingers in the area where the instruments are received. Perhaps more dangerous than possible nicks, cuts or scratches that can be inflicted on the holder's hand, is the possible danger of transmission of infectious diseases.
During surgery, instruments are commonly in contact with blood and other bodily fluids which can contain infectious diseases such as hepatitis or AIDS. The tragic outbreak of AIDS alone has caused people in the medical field to be particularly concerned with contracting such diseases by coming into contact with or being cut by soiled instruments. The prior art devices, wherein people typically hold the device with one or more fingers extending into the instrument receptacle area, are highly deficient in that during complicated surgical procedures it would be quite easy for an instrument to injure a person's hand with possibly disastrous consequences.
An important aspect of this invention therefore lies in providing a receptacle for receiving and conveying medical instruments during surgical procedures that protects the holder's hand from possible injury and transmission of infectious disease. Briefly, the present invention provides a receptacle for receiving surgical instruments, a connected handle for hand-carrying the receptacle, and a flared shield positioned adjacent the handle for shielding a holder's hand from contact with the instruments while they are being placed into the receptacle.
The present invention is particularly advantageous in that it can be molded in a one-piece construction of a puncture-resistant polymeric material that is inexpensive and easy to manufacture. Having such a construction, the device can be manufactured for single use and thereafter be disposable. This negates the need for sterilizing the receptacle with an autoclave or other device which is often time consuming and expensive.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the receptacle can be designed to have a generally planar bottom, a pair of vertical side walls, and a first back wall which together define a trough for receiving instruments. A second back wall can be placed between the side walls and a distance apart from and in parallel relation to the first back wall to define a disposal bin. This bin preferably has a rectangular shape and a lid can be hingedly attached to one of the side walls to seal the bin. This bin is particularly effective for receiving small instruments such as needles, surgical sharps, and suture needles for permanent disposal. Typically, such components must be permanently sealed in a puncture-resistant container prior to disposal to prevent accidents which could occur during transportation to a landfill or other permanent disposal means. Thus, the disposable instrument passer of this invention can perform the dual functions of acting as an instrument conveyor and as a permanent receptacle for small disposable instruments--thereby conserving materials, reducing manufacturing expenses, reducing overall medical expenses and further providing the environmental advantages of conserving energy and reducing waste in landfills.
Other embodiments of the present invention include modifications to the disposal bin. One such modification can take the form of placing a removable, puncture-resistant container for receiving small instruments into the bin so that the container can be replaced when full. The removable containers act as permanent disposal containers for the small instruments while the instrument passer effectively protects the holder's hand from harm. Another modification can take the form of placing a pop-up container into the bin which can be simply pushed up to receive small instruments and then pushed back into position to effectively, permanently and safely contain small disposable instruments. In another embodiment, a tray means is disposed in the bin and including retaining means for receiving the small surgical instruments, such as polystyrene strips or magnetic strips.
Other features, advantages, and objects of the invention will become apparent from the specification and drawings.